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Seniors strategy must emphasize prevention

Re: Canada needs a national seniors strategy, Opinion Jan. 30

Canada needs a national seniors strategy, Opinion Jan. 30

This column makes a cogent, economic and fact-based case for national action on seniors’ health care. As a senior I offer my sincerest thanks and admiration to the authors – Christopher Simpson, MD, president of the Canadian Medical Association, Morel Caissie president of the Canadian Association of Social Workers and Karima Velji, president of the Canadian Nurses Association.

There is one component that is not emphasized in this strategy – prevention. Let us look at a major source of morbidity and mortality for seniors and cost to the health care system – injury from falls. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, falls account for more than half of all injuries among Canadians 65 years and over.

One third of community-dwelling Canadian seniors experience one fall each year and half of those will fall more than once. The likelihood of dying from a fall-related injury increases with age; among seniors, 20 per cent of deaths related to injury can be traced back to a fall. And nearly half of all injuries among seniors occur at home.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lack of exercise can lead to weak legs and this increases the chances of falling. Exercise programs such as Tai Chi can increase strength and improve balance, making falls much less likely.

Thus a low-cost and low-impact system such as Tai Chi can have a major impact on seniors’ health and greatly reduce the associated health care costs. Wouldn’t it be fiscally responsible for our government to directly subsidize the proliferation of evidence based seniors’ health improvement systems such as Tai Chi?

Having a seniors’ care program without an active prevention component is like having health insurance without vaccination or water treatment programs; essentially bailing a sinking ship.

Moses Shuldiner, Toronto

It doesn’t require strategic thinking or more wasted time on government panels to know the answers.

It is obvious we need more rehab and long-term care facilities to take the burden off our hospitals. And to do this we have to increase our OHIP contributions.

In the same edition of the Star was an article regarding the possibility of closing some of our schools. What an opportunity for our government to convert these. Perhaps with a little ingenuity some could even be divided so that students in the areas under discussions would still have their separate facilities.

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Hospitals are so desperate that they are now handing out to hip replacement patients (after a four-day stay) a list of retirement homes that rent out accommodations should the patient have no help at home. The minimum cost is $2,100 for a two-week stay, plus extra should they need help showering or getting out of bed.

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